The Town of Center is pleased to announce the community has been awarded a $2 million dollar More Housing Now grant through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). The purpose of this grant is to provide the essential infrastructure to lay the groundwork for immediate housing construction while significantly reducing the upfront financial burden on the community of a potential developer to complete the project. Moreover, the development’s strategic location adjacent to an existing residential neighborhood and close proximity to downtown ensures accessibility and integration with the community. This infrastructure installation phase represents the final major catalyst to bringing the new development to life. 
DOLA and the More Housing Now and Land Use Initiative supports efforts by local governments to adopt land use and other strategies to increase opportunity for affordable and attainable housing development. They recognize that a significant barrier to redevelopment is the cost to upgrade and upsize or otherwise provide needed infrastructure to incentivize affordable and attainable housing development.
The announcement of the More Housing Now grant is very timely as our team is currently inviting qualified developers to express their interest in developing attainable/workforce housing on the Town Owned North 90 Parcel. The deadline for submissions has changed to September 22 to line up these initiatives.
In this phase of development of the North 90, the town is seeking to explore the construction of roughly 20 – 40 homes, open to both rental and for-sale units. Respondents are welcome to propose larger or multi-phased projects using additional land in the North 90. We look forward to working collaboratively with developers that can assist our community in meeting our housing needs.
Building on the town’s recent strides towards improvement and broad community engagement, this Request for Interest is the next step toward identifying and engaging developers that want to partner with the community.
The Town is seeking to partner with the Developer to begin defining a feasible project for this parcel which aligns with the community’s housing needs, works within the opportunities and constraints of the site, and partners with local stakeholders to maximize the eligibility for state and federal nancing as described above. The Town anticipates that a variety of housing options may be developed on this parcel along with other complimentary uses such as commercial, parks, trails, and other neighborhood amenities.
The location is within walking distance of our downtown (0.3 miles), school district (0.5 miles), and major parks (0.5 and 0.8 miles). It has more than sufficient water rights to support a build out of the entire property, has previously been used for agricultural uses, and has been formally annexed into the Town.
RFP Linked Here
Please submit your Letter of Interest and Qualifications electronically by September 22 to our economic development advisors at Downtown Colorado Inc.:Kylie Brown, Rural Program Manageroutreach@downtowncoloradoinc.org
About Downtown Colorado, Inc.Established in 1982 as the Colorado Community Revitalization Association, Downtown Colorado, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit membership organization that aims to build better communities by providing assistance to downtowns, commercial districts, and town centers in Colorado. Organization members represent downtown organizations, local governments, development and improvement districts, consultants, individuals, and others involved in downtown and community development. Downtown Colorado, Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer. DCI employs personnel without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental handicap, veteran status, and marital status. To learn more about Downtown Colorado, Inc. you can visit our website at https://www.downtowncoloradoinc.org. 
About the Town of CenterThe Town of Center is a Statutory Town in Rio Grande and Saguache counties in the U.S. state of Colorado, with a population of 2,229 as per the 2020 United States Census.